It would be fair to say that after a promising first season under Erik ten Hag, Manchester United were disappointingly poor last season, at least in the Premier League anyway.
Now, there were some mitigating circumstances for the Red Devils' turgid performances, such as injuries, but after the first three games of this season, it looks like it could be another brutal campaign for the United faithful.
There are some undeniably talented players at the club, and this summer's transfer business is encouraging, but there are just too many stars who are out of form, stars like Casemiro, Marcus Rashford, and Antony.
In fact, those last two were so underwhelming last season, that they were outperformed by a former United flop who left for a pittance almost a decade ago.
Rashford and Antony's 23/24
Now, considering United finished in eighth place last season despite producing the 15th-worst underlying numbers in the competition, per Understat, it might seem a bit harsh to talk about Rashford and Antony as particularly disappointing, but there are reasons.
For the Englishman, it's about how inconsistent he has become. Only the season prior, he racked up a frankly ludicrous tally of 30 goals and 11 assists in 56 matches, only to follow that up with a haul of eight goals and six assists in 43 appearances.
That means the Manchester-born star went from averaging a goal involvement every 1.36 games in 22/23 to averaging one every 3.07 games last season, and as he hasn't scored or assisted a goal yet this season, it's looking like his form is set to continue.
In the case of the Brazilian, his lacklustre form last season was disappointing as some sections of the fanbase and media were hoping that after his first campaign in the country, he'd kick on and show the league why the club spent around £81m to secure his services.
Unfortunately, he didn't even get close to doing that and ended the year with a dreadful tally of three goals and two assists in 38 matches, equating to a dismal average of a goal involvement once every 7.6 games.
In all, both wingers have a mountain to climb this season to prove their doubters wrong, especially as a former United flop who struggled himself at points last season outperformed them both.
Wilfried Zaha's recent form
Yes, the United flop in question is former Premier League star Wilfried Zaha, who moved to United for around £15m in 2013, only to be sold back to Crystal Palace a couple of years later for £3m and with just four appearances to his name.
At the time, it looked like he was going to be just another failed wonderkid, but back in South London, the Abidjan-born winger showed the rest of the league that he was the real deal, and by the time he left Selhurst Park last summer to join Galatasaray, he had racked up 90 goals and 62 assists in 458 appearances.
The 31-year-old made his move to Turkey to fulfil a lifelong ambition of playing in the Champions League, and not only did he achieve it, but he did so with a goal at Old Trafford – it was always going to happen.
However, he didn't fully settle in Istanbul and moved to French giants Lyon on loan last month, yet even though his time in the Turkish capital didn't go precisely to plan, he still managed to produce ten goals and five assists in 42 matches, meaning he was far more productive than Antony and ever so slightly more productive than Rashford.
Now, the massive caveat here is that the Süper Lig obviously represents a lower level of opposition than the Premier League, but given Zaha's form for Palace for 22/23, we do not doubt that he could still offer something to a top-flight team in England this season.
Appearances
42
43
38
Goals
10
8
3
Assists
5
6
2
Goal Involvements per Match
0.35
0.32
0.13
Ultimately, though, his departure from United all those years ago was probably in the best interest of all parties, and while Rashford isn't at his best at the moment, he has the quality to get back there, although we aren't so sure about Antony.
Man Utd wonderkid left for £0, now he's like Scholes & better than Mainoo
The talented midfielder has been incredible away from Old Trafford.
1 ByJack Salveson Holmes
